This is a journey of discovering coffee. From instant coffee to roasting beans and preparing espressos on a semi-professional espresso machine

Japan and my coffee experience

Yes, I know: what does Japan has
to do with coffee? Well, I am going to be honest with you: In Tokyo I enjoyed
one of the bests lattes I have ever had. I know it doesn’t make a lot of sense,
but I think I can find an explanation to this, it has to do with the culture of
doing things right.

Let me tell you the story first, the
name of the place is Le Café Doutor. It is located in Ginza, that is a very
chic avenue in Tokyo (I would assume the equivalent of 5th Avenue in
NYC or Masarik for my friends in Mexico).

After a day of riding the subway
and visiting some of the typical touristic places in Tokyo (the Toyko Tower,
Buddhist monastery, the fish market auction among others) I went to Ginza since
I heard a lot about it. As soon as I started walking down the street, names
such as Gucci or Apple started showing up; I stepped into some of the stores and
I immediately sensed how all these brands seemed to be more expensive in Yens.
The complete experience is amazing and hard to describe, you are surrounded by
rivers of people coming and going at an incredible fast pace, all of them
wearing the latest trend in fashion and immersed in their mobiles. I was
enjoying just being there and suddenly, I saw it in a corner, the place that
would put the cherry on top: A chic café,
with big windows and seating outside; it seemed like the perfect place to crash
and enjoy a cup of coffee.

Since I was already drinking lattes in the US, I thought that I would
give it a try, but I wasn’t expecting anything exciting about the coffee; from
all the things I knew Japan was good for, I didn’t know coffee was one of them.
So, there I was asking for a latte, and suddenly something amazing happened…

…the guy crafting my coffee was
not your average Starbucks barista; this guy was an artist, he used the milk he
was pouring to draw a leave in my cup (which later I discovered it was called a
Rosetta). This was the first time I saw someone doing something like this. He
was creating art in my cup. Still wondering how was he able to do that I stepped
outside and I was lucky enough to find a seat with a perfect view. At that
moment, out there, far away from home, but with a familiar smell and a warm cup
in my hands I felt in peace and relaxed, it was one of those moments where time
stops around you and you are able to appreciate small details like the wind and
people’s expressions while they stare at their phones. It is amazing what a
good cup of coffee can make!

The following morning I decided
to test my luck at another café in a much discrete area in Tokyo, and once
again, I was not disappointed, it was delicious too. The taste, smell and looks
of the coffee were perfect. I left that day Japan with a very good impression.

As I told you before I was
surprised to get such a good coffee experience over there, but now that I think
about it I shouldn’t have been that surprised. After all, the milk, beans and
the espresso machine could easily be bought from any place in the World. But
what about the barista’s skills, as far as I could tell he was Japanese, and I
have heard wonders about Italian baristas, but not a lot about Japanese ones,
so how did he acquired those skills?

If you have ever heard about
Total Quality Management (TQM), Just in Time (JIT) and other terms to talk
about quality, you know that a lot of them started in Japan. It is not just
about doing things, but doing things in the best possibly way you can. When a
culture is so oriented towards quality and detail in every aspect, you could
easily see how important it should be for any business to pay that much
attention on their raw materials, equipment, and on the training to their
employees. They already did it with
cars, are coffee shops their next target?

So now you know, If you are ever
around the Ginza area, and you want a nice place to seat down and watch the
crowd walking through the streets, here is the address: Le Cafe Doutor, Sanai Dream
Center 1, 2F, 5-7-2 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo( http://www.tradina.com/0355378959/map.html)

Once that I was back home I
discovered that the latte I have been drinking at Starbucks although it is
technically a latte, it is not the kind of latte I wanted. With this experience
I learnt that drinking a cup of coffee could be a delight for the senses:
smell, taste, touch and sight, and now I try to make every cup count…

Advertisement

Advertisement

Follow by Email

About Me

I live and work in Silicon Valley but I am originally from Mexico City. I enjoy all those little pleasures of life: a tasty meal, sharing a bottle of good red wine with friends, or just sipping to my Latte on a lazy Saturday morning while reading a good book sitting at my coach. However, I was not always like this. During my youth I used to believe that instant coffee with a quesadilla made the perfect breakfast. Over the years I have discovered new exciting things and flavors thanks to friends, trips, work, the internet and books and I want to share with you my journey.